Block the garage as well.

Pain is a great teacher.  

If you intend to hook it up it would be smart to make sure it is not blocked either by tree roots or crushed at some point underneath the lawn or someone poured cement down it or something like that.

What are your thoughts on blocking off the double doors and using it as a separate, private unit.

Are they a pain to service compared to standard machines?

Are there any two-family homes on your block? 

As for a PM managing you can just block the time you want that is how it is usually done. however some PMs want a certain amount of prime time available or they don't want to manage it.

Cheaper normally translates to "pain in the ***" to deal with.

Having the assessment coverage on your condo policy is cheap and can save you some pain. 

And anything within a block or so of the ocean is going to take an incredible beating from the winter weather salt air etc etc.. and then you have the Tsunami that is coming with teh massive earth quake that will come and that will wipe out whole towns on the Oregon coasts.